June 2012 – Page 2 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

How to Understand the Middle East in 2 Minutes

June 11, 2012rjstreets

Things can change in the Middle East in a minute or a day

or as seen in the Arab Spring in Egypt and Syria…

one can never predict the timing of change.

Last week in Jerusalem a few things caught my attention

that you may have missed.

The media gave much attention to Palestinian hunger strikers,

but in the open area near the Israeli Supreme Court,

there was a tent for another hunger strike, by those who supported a law

against destroying the Ulpana houses of Beit El.

On Sunday MK Daniel Hershkowitz arrived with his security team.

First he chatted with the “settler activists” working in the tent

and had a discussion with MK Yaakov Katz, known as Katzeleh.

Then MK Hershkowitz, the Minister of Science and Technology,

sat and spoke to the crowd.

But on Wednesday, after talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,

he did not vote for the bill and thus kept his job as minister.

The politics involved are way too complicated for me to explain.

Also on Wednesday, at Ofer Military Prison,

there was another trial for Shchada Aved Shchada Shata.

He has been convicted of stealing the gun from Asher Palmer‘s body.

Shchada stopped his car, climbed down from the highway

to reach the site where the car had crashed and stole the dead man’s gun.

He is a 47-year-old father of eight with sick relatives,

who wants compassion from the court,

though he showed none at the time of the crime.

In contrast, a Israeli military court had previously permitted

Palmer supporters to hold photos of Asher and Yonatan,

the infant son who was in the car and also died in the crash

at the trial of those who threw the large rock from a moving car,

but not at this past Wednesday hearing.

Michael Palmer, the victims’ father and grandfather was allowed

to enter a written statement as a victim of terror.

Meanwhile back in Jerusalem,

the German flag was still flying after the visit of the

President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck.

President Gauck thinks the problem in the Middle East is the “settlers,”

wonder if he ever reads Khaled Abu Toameh?

As they were taking down the German and Israeli flags,

this Arab family was enjoying an outing in the park below,

near a memorial and wreath in memory of the bus bombing

on February 22, 2004 where 8 Jews were killed.

Understand the Middle East in 2 minutes?

… impossible.

Light in Jerusalem 2012

June 7, 2012rjstreets

Thousands of people attended the opening of the

Jerusalem Festival of Light in the Old City last night.

It is one of my favorite events to photograph

so I arrived at Jaffa Gate early, before sunset .

There were three colored trails to follow,

I started with the “Orange Trail”

which went past The Tower of David and through

the Armenian Quarter along the Armenian Patriarch Street.

Workers were finishing up the large art piece “Faces of Jerusalem.”

A series of lights called the “Light Line” lined Misgav Ladach Street

and ended at the harp-shaped, “The Visual Piano.”

It was hard to photograph, but impressive to hear and see.

At sunset, both the lights at the Kotel, the Western Wall,

and the views of the area are a favorite even without art light displays.

In the Rova, the plaza of the Jewish Quarter,

there was a fascinating piece called “Meeting Composition.”

It changed with the motion of people under it.

From the Jewish Quarter I picked up the “Blue Trail.”

Last year I was so impressed with performers using fire torches

that I watched for a long time and took dozens of photos.

Last year they were on a small side street,

but this year they were a main attraction in Muristan Square.

Determined to see all the routes, I did not stay to watch,

but started on the “Green Trail.”

There was a light coming from the Mosque of Omar,

but the sign says “For Prayers Only”.

The “Green Trail” went through areas of the Old City

where I usually do not go, certainly not alone at night.

So when the green lights stopped here, I stopped…

until an Israeli woman passed me and said to keep going to Damascus Gate.

Really good advice!

While recently the Damascus Gate has been in the news as a site of protests,

tonight it was lit up as a giant pinball machine.

Along the walls on the way back to Jaffa Gate were “Light Benches”

and this piece which can only appreciated in video.

At the Jaffa Gate the “Cupola” was bright inside and out.

Inside there was a couple dancing to the music,

while people were looking up

and many were taking photos.

Jerusalem, the light of the world.

These are just a few of my favorites from “Light in Jerusalem.”

I have to leave you some surprises, as the event runs until June 14.

If you cannot make it to Jerusalem, Israel this year…

more photos posted on

The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook page

Photos from my Time in Israeli Prison

June 4, 2012rjstreets

I never thought I would want to be in a prison,

but my week started by spending a morning in Ofer Prison,

which is just a short drive north of Jerusalem.

I had a chance to observe and take photos in the Ofer Military Court.

On September 23, 2011,

the day that Mahmoud Abbas was in New York City

to declare a Palestinian state,

Asher Palmer, a dual American and Israeli citizen,

and his infant son Jonathan were killed after

a rock thrown from a moving car crashed through his windshield.

To get into the courtroom where his accused murderers were being tried,

a small group of Palmer family supporters gathered outside

and waited to go through the heavy security.

Behind this door were sensitive metal detectors.

Thanks to my press pass I did not have to undergo a body search.

But no surprise… no photos are allowed in the security area.

Arriving in a courtyard,

we and other visitors waited to enter the court room.

It was a hot day, the shaded areas may not make for great photos,

but they sure felt good.

No cell phones, bags or bottled drinks are allowed to be brought in,

but food and drink can be bought in this shop and

cigarettes are available 24 hours a day from this machine.

The trial has gone on for some time,

more sessions already on the calendar for June and July.

Special for this session was that representatives of the US State

and Justice Departments were in attendance.

They spoke with Michael Palmer, Asher’s father,

who flew in from the US for the trial and with his legal consul.

The courtroom, one of many, is seen in the background.

Finally we were allowed past this last fence and into the courtroom

where Wa’al al’Arjeh, the accused driver and ring leader

was waiting for the proceedings to begin.

Adrian Agassi, a retired military judge

who is acting on behalf of the Palmer family, got up on several occasions

to explain to Michael Palmer what was happening.

The proceedings were conducted in Hebrew

with simultaneous Arabic translation and much of the time

it was hard to hear and understand what was happening.

In the last court session it was ruled that spectators

may hold a photo of the dead father and his baby son,

as was done by Palmer family supporters.

US officials sat in the row behind them.

When the judges enter the courtroom photos are no longer allowed.

This picture of Ali Saadeh, the alleged stone thrower,

was taken just before they entered.

This trial was to hear his testimony against Wa’al al’Arjeh.

In an Israeli military court a defendant has the right to hear his accuser.

Only Ali was afraid to testify, not because of the Israelis,

but because of fear of vengeance against his family by the al’Ajeh clan.

The six defendants in this case all come from the same village,

their families were noticeably missing from this trial.

So why is this so important?

The 47-year-old man who was convicted of stealing Asher Palmer’s gun

could have been sentenced to 3 years in jail, but got 10 months.

He had the victim’s blood on his hands, and now he can be tried

for desecrating a body, which carries a longer sentence.

The earlier testimony of Ali will be used

and his terror of future acts of violence speaks volumes.

Throwing rocks from a moving vehicle is a new terror tactic,

this gang met for a month working on a plan to “kill Jews,”

making this a premeditated murder.

Michael Palmer wants his son’s and grandson’s murderers

to get a life sentence and not get a plea bargain for a lighter one.

Families of victims of terror suffer for life.

Michael Palmer does not want these terrorists to get off easy.